Ice Storm
| Ice Storm | ||
|---|---|---|
| Joe Kisenwether | ||
| Players: | 3 - 5 | |
| Length: | unknown | |
| Complexity: | unknown | |
| Trios per color: | 5 | |
| Number of colors: | 1 per player | |
| - - - - - - Other equipment - - - - - - | ||
| chessboard, optional scoring board | ||
| Status: Complete (v1.0), Year released: 2001 | ||
Description[edit | edit source]
Huge fields of drone laser fighters tumble haphazardly through deep space. Once precise attack formations drift apart and mingle silently with enemy ships. The war has been over for eons. The warring races are all long dead. But untold destructive power still waits for the signal to fire. Would you like to play a game? Equipment:
- 3 or more players (4 or 5 is best)
- 1 set of 5 matching icehouse pieces for each player
- 1 chessboard with squares slightly larger than the length of the pieces being used.
- Something to keep score with.
(I suggest using 2-point Icehouse pieces and the board that comes with the Black Ice expansion)
The game will consist of multiple rounds. One round in which each player starts. So, for example, a five player game would have five rounds. Each round will consist of three phases:
Deployment[edit | edit source]
Players take turns tossing one piece onto the board at a time. Hands must be kept at least 6 inches above the table during the deployment phase. A piece which lands one top of another or leaning against another is picked up and re-deployed. (Any pieces moved by this piece's initial deployment are left in their new positions.) Pieces which land off the board (or partially off) are wasted, set them aside until the end of the round. It is perfectly legal (and encouraged) to knock enemy pieces into different positions, or off the board entirely during the deployment phase. If an enemy piece is knocked off the board by your piece keep it and add it immediately to your score stack. (explained below.)
Attack[edit | edit source]
The player who deployed the first piece gets the first opportunity to fire. A piece may fire on any enemy piece which touches any square in his line of fire. That piece is removed from the board and put in the attacking player score stack. Lines of fire are as follows:
A piece which lands touching two different squares (an edge piece) will fire orthogonally in the direction of the square in which the tip lands. (For example, a piece which lands touching squared b3 and b4 with it's tip in b4 can fire on any piece which touches b4, b5, b6, b7 or b8.)
A piece which lands touching three or four different squares (a corner piece) will fire diagonally in the direction of the square in which the tip lands. (A piece which lands touching b3, b4, and c4 with its tip in c4 can fire on any piece which touches c4, d5, e6, f7 or g8.)
A piece which lands entirely within one square (a center piece) can fire in any direction from its home square. (A piece which lands entirely within b3, could fire on any piece touching a2, a3, a4, b1, b2, b3, b4, b5, b6, b7, b8, c2, c3, c4, d1, d3, d5, e3, e6, f3, f7, g3, g7 or h3.) Center pieces are both very powerful, and very hard to take (since they only touch one square.) It's best to try to take them out as early as you can. During the deployment stage when possible.
A piece which lands point up may fire as if its tip were in any of the squares which the piece touches. So a point up edge piece will be able to fire both ways along it's diagonal, a point up 3-square corner piece will be able to fire along 3 radial diagonals, and a point up 4-square corner piece will be able to fire along all four radial diagonals. A point up center piece has is no different than a regular center piece.
Once a player has made her attack and captured an enemy piece, it becomes the attacked player's turn. If a player is unable to make an attack on their turn, play passes to their left. Play continues until no player can make an attack.
Scoring[edit | edit source]
Players receive one point for each enemy piece that they have removed from the board (i.e. their score stack) and one point for each of their own pieces that remains on the board when all attacks are over.
Whoever has the highest total score when all rounds are finished is the winner.
[These rules were taken from an e-mail posted to the Icehouse mailing list on 18 February 2001 18:43EST.]